The theft of tribute twenty-two years ago.

Zhao Zhen suddenly left such a clue and returned to the palace.

There is no record of such a large case in the dragon pattern scroll, nor in various historical materials, but twenty-two years is not a very distant year, which means that the person in charge of investigating the theft case at that time should still be alive.

Zhan Zhao and the others went back to Kaifeng Mansion first and asked Master Bao.

Master Bao thought for a moment and said, "Twenty-two years ago...... I was not the governor of Kaifeng at that time, and I should not have reported the theft of tribute to the yamen, and this matter had something to do with the military. ”

Zhao Pu thought for a while, "Do you want to ask the veteran generals in the army?" ”

Master Bao shook his head, "It should be the matter of the Imperial City Army...... Why don't you ask Pang Ji about it? ”

Pang Yu was curious, "Ask my dad again?" ”

"Taishi used to be from the Imperial City Army, and he has a wide range of contacts, and if something happens to the Imperial City Army, someone will definitely sue him." "Instead of asking around like a headless fly, it's better to ask him directly, and he may be able to tell him who you should ask." ”

Everyone squinted - Taishi was really not an ordinary person.

Coincidentally, everyone was about to go to the Taishi Mansion, and the guards outside came to report that they were coming together with Taishi Pang and the Eighth Prince.

Master Bao was stunned, and said that he had an invitation, but he couldn't understand how these two came to the door.

After a while, the Taishi and the Eighth Prince, who were dressed in civilian clothes, walked in slowly.

Everyone looked at them and was a little speechless.

The Taishi is still chubby, holding two exquisite walnuts in his hands, and the eighth prince is shaking a small fan, compared with the people who are busy investigating the case, these two look like they are idle and panicked to have fun.

Sure enough, when the Taishi entered the door, he asked, "Old Bao!" Is the competition between the four academies still comparable? Today, the emperor went to see the former war in person, right? ”

"This king has just come from the palace, and the emperor seems to be very satisfied." The Eighth Prince was also curious, "What about the few military flags?" Show me! ”

Everyone said that the eighth prince must not know about Zhao Zhen's assassination, otherwise he would not be able to laugh if he would be able to laugh.

The eighth king also helped Zhao Zhen pass a word, saying that there was something to let Lord Bao enter the palace, and the adult took people to leave first, leaving everyone to entertain the two.

Zhao Pu made a look at everyone, which meant - don't let the eighth prince know about the emperor's attack, otherwise he shouldn't be able to sleep again.

The people knew it.

Pang Yu went over and pulled his father, "Dad, you came just in time!" Ask you something! ”

Pang Ji touched his beard and said, "I said Yu'er! ”

Pang Yu blinked.

"Do you have your share in this four-house competition?"

When the Taishi spoke, the little marquis disliked his face, what does that mean - your son has just left the ranks of straw bales, and you want me to single out those big talents? How can it be!

All the students of Taixue looked at him gloatingly, and Bao Yanti yì, "It's better to let him participate in the martial arts test." ”

The corners of the little marquis's mouth twitched.

Taishi looked at his son, then at everyone, and nodded his finger, "Speaking of which, you are all honest people, people have played so much work and taken advantage of it, why don't you think about fighting back?" You have to strike first! You can't be too realistic, if the other party is a traitor, you have to play yin......"

As soon as the master finished speaking, he felt that the hem of his clothes was being pulled...... Looking down, the little fourth son was looking up and grabbing the hem of his clothes.

"Yo." Taishi hurriedly shook his hand and kicked away his son, squatted down and hugged the fourth son, "I just said that I didn't see you when I entered the door, where did you go?" ”

The little fourth son went to the stable just now to look at the pony, and when he returned to the courtyard, he heard the Taishi speak.

So, the little fourth son put his arms around the neck of the Taishi and said seriously, "Little Chubby, do you have any good ideas?" ”

Taishi raised his eyebrows, "What ...... this?"

The little fourth son immediately coquettish, "Sue me!" Chubby is the smartest! ”

The Taishi is so beautiful that he looks up to the sky and smiles......

Everyone looked at the Taishi helplessly, and their necks would be broken if they leaned back.

Yin Hou and Tianzun also came up to listen to Master Pang's opinion, and everyone knew that he had a lot of ghost ideas.

Before the Taishi could speak, Gongsun came over and stuffed the little fourth son into the hands of Yin Hou and Tianzun, which means - come in line, ask the case first, and after asking the case, he will be yours!

The Taishi and the Eighth Prince sat down at the table, and the rest of the people also sat at the same table, drinking tea, and asked about the case of the theft of tribute more than 20 years ago.

"Oh!" Taishi touched his beard, "This old man knows." ”

The eighth prince also nodded, "I lost 100,000 taels of gold, at that time, the matter could not be spread outside, most people didn't know, and it was time for this king to know!" ”

Taishi also nodded, "That's right! ”

"Why did you send so much tribute to the palace at once?" Zhan Zhao was puzzled, "And the tribute money is escorted by the army, who can snatch it away with such ability?" ”

"This batch of stolen gold is indeed as much as 100,000 taels." The Taishi saw that there were no outsiders on the left and right, so he lowered his voice and said, "But that batch of gold is not a tax or tribute from anywhere, but I am afraid that if the news leaks out and cause more trouble, I lie that it is tribute." ”

Everyone frowned.

Zhao Pu was puzzled, "It's not a tax or a tribute, how can there be so many 100,000 taels of gold sent at once?" What is the money? ”

The eighth prince smiled, "It's black gold!" ”

Everyone was amazed - black gold? Isn't it some kind of gold that comes from the wrong way and is unsightly?

"That's a long story!" Taishi said, "More than 20 years ago, when the border was not very peaceful, the emperor wanted to secretly allocate a batch of military funds to secretly train a group of people, in fact, this is also the earliest prototype of the Zhao family's army. ”

Zhao Pu nodded, he led the soldiers out at the age of sixteen, and it was indeed a little surprising at that time, there would be so many soldiers and horses...... In fact, the most important thing is not the people, but the horses, blades and armor, which are all good things! Otherwise, no matter how powerful he is, he will not be able to win the battle lightly. Moreover, the shrewdness of the emperor lies in doing it silently, and the enemy army did not expect that the Great Song Dynasty would hide so many men and horses.

"At that time, the provinces and ministries didn't know how much detail there were!" The eighth king smiled, "The first emperor is worried, how can he raise so much money?" The origin has not been found. ”

Everyone nodded, there was indeed a difficulty

"It's such a coincidence, at that time, Hangzhou Fu Yin sent a secret recital." Bawang said, "It is said that it is a rich place in the area of Suzhou and Hangzhou Lake, and there is a group of very powerful liars!" ”

"Liar?" Zhanzhao frowned.

"These people should all be from the rivers and lakes, probably from a certain sect, and most of them are cheating in places with dense crowds such as temples, gambling houses, and clinics. The methods of deception are similar, there are those who pretend to be Langzhong, those who are drugged, those who tell fortunes, and those who pretend to be monks...... Zero always has everything, and it has deceived many people. ”

Taishi said, "I really couldn't find out about this thing, but there are too many people who have been deceived later!" If you think about it, isn't it strange that the yamen would receive 100 cases of deception in one year, but this year it suddenly became 500? ”

Zhan Zhao nodded, "Indeed, and if five hundred were reported, a thousand actually happened, and many people were deceived and didn't know it, or some people were afraid of trouble, so they simply didn't report to the official." ”

Taishi nodded, "Hangzhou Mansion Yin is a person who understands. As he spoke, he asked Lin Xiao, "You are from Hangzhou, you should know, just the former Pei Zhifu." ”

Lin Xiao seemed to have some impressions, "It seems that I stepped down before I was born?" I've heard Master Chen talk about it. ”

Taishi nodded, "He will step down after investigating that case!" The old man doesn't know what the situation is doing. ”

"The emperor asked Hangzhou Mansion Yin to secretly arrest those scammers, and the 100,000 taels of gold are the money cheated by the swindlers?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Taishi's fingers shook slightly, "It's not 100,000 taels, it's 200,000 taels of gold in total!" ”

Everyone was taken aback.

Bai Yutang frowned, "So much? ”

Zhan Zhao couldn't help but look at him with a smile - you even sighed a day when you had a lot of money!

Gongsun calculated, "How many people do you have to deceive this?" Have these crooks been committing crimes for a long time? ”

"That's the problem." The eighth prince shook his head and said, "It took a long time for Hangzhou Mansion Yin to catch all those people, and when I arrived at the nest, I didn't expect to find so much gold, Hangzhou Mansion Yin sent the emperor to the palace in two batches, but I didn't expect that on the way, one batch was robbed, and the other batch arrived safely." ”

Everyone frowned—I see.

"Didn't the emperor announce the theft of the tribute gold, and then quietly used another batch for military expenses?" Zhan Zhao asked, "Didn't compensate those who were deceived?" ”

The eighth prince shook his head and said, "Don't worry about this, the emperor has allocated another amount of money to send it to the local area in the name of flood control and dam construction, and then it will be arranged by Hangzhou Mansion Yin to compensate those who have been deceived who have reported the case." ”

Everyone nodded, the emperor did not say that there was a lack of money and no military spending, but that he needed a huge amount of money that could not be found and no one knew about it to secretly raise armaments.

"Hangzhou Mansion Yin's credit is great." Zhao Pu was a little puzzled, "Why didn't you rise to the top?" With his ability to do things, he is estimated to be the prime minister at this time. ”

"The emperor did want to promote him back then, but he stepped down before he was too old." Taishi said, "The first emperor also thinks it's a pity. ”

Everyone wondered - is there a connection between several things?

"Who robbed the gold?" Gongsun was curious, "Is it the remnants of the gang of liars from before?" ”

"That's what I speculated at the time, but then the gang disappeared with the gold." Taishi shook his head, "At first, I was indeed nervous for a while, but then I didn't see anything, so I didn't do it." ”

"It is not easy to transport 100,000 taels of gold from Hangzhou to Kaifeng in secret." Bai Yutang asked, "Are you taking the waterway?" ”

"That's right!" Taishi nodded, "Those thieves are the gold that Tong guò robbed the ship and robbed. Even the people and the boat are gone! ”

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang and saw that he was frowning, so he asked, "Did you think of something?" ”

Bai Yutang said, "A fleet of large ships is needed to carry 100,000 taels of gold, maybe it is an official ship or a merchant ship, in short, it must be equipped with officers and soldiers." Hangzhou Mansion to Kaifeng is an inland river and not an open sea, how easy is it to let such a large fleet disappear out of thin air? Unless ......"

"Unless what?" Everyone asked.

Bai Yutang looked at everyone, "Unless there are big water gangs and docks to help!" ”

The crowd looked at each other.

"What do you mean......" Zhao Pu asked, "hijacked those ships into a large dockyard and hid them?" ”

"The people on the ship can be killed, the gold can be snatched, but what to do with such a large ship?" Bai Yutang asked, "So put it in the dock, transform it, and wait for the limelight to pass, and then take it out and use it openly, or simply sell it, and the gods don't know it." ”

"Maybe those boats are still in use." Zhan Zhao Road.

"It should still be in use, or it may have been scrapped." Bai Yutang nodded.

"That's going to be easy." Zhan Zhao clapped his hands, "Ask the old man!" ”

Everyone nodded—is the omniscient wind that spreads the wind?

Jiuniang helped run errands, and early the next morning, he came back with Jiuniang and Fengchuanfeng.

Feng Chuanfeng got down from his back and patted his back and admired, "This baby is suitable for people like me who have unhappy legs and know too many secrets!" ”

Everyone hadn't seen this Jianghu for a while, so they sat for a while and asked him about buying and selling boats.

"Twenty years ago, there was indeed a wealthy family in the Prefecture of Yuanzhou, and it was said that the quality of the ships was quite good. ”

"The Prefecture Mansion?" Zhanzhao frowned, "Which rich man?" ”

"The Yan family." Feng Chuanfeng thought for a moment, "Hmm...... It should be the Hiko family. ”

When everyone heard this, they were stunned.

Bai Yutang frowned, "Yan family? Boss Yan who sells rice? ”

"That's right." Wind Breeze nodded.

Everyone's brows furrowed.

"Boss Hiko!" Zhao Lan also remembered, "Oh, wasn't the little young master of the Jin family the third lady of the Yan family who was married back then?" ”

"Boss Yan and Old Man Jin are friends." Zhao Pu thought for a while, "The Jin family is engaged in gold trading, there is such a big golden Buddha hidden in the back mountain, and there are so many fake gold hidden under the house. And Boss Yan has something to do with the gold robbery case back then...... Could it be that the so-called haunted case is actually black eating black? ”

"Does that golden Buddha have 100,000 taels of gold?" Zhan Zhao asked suddenly.

Bai Yutang and Pang Yu both thought about it, and the Taishi nodded, "Well, almost...... If you leave a little space in it, it's just right. ”

Everyone looked at the Taishi - even faster than the fifth master!

Pang Yu looked at the sky, as long as his father passed his hands on all the gold and silver, he would know how much! Even a stack of silver tickets, his father didn't have to count them, just touch them to know how many.

Everyone nodded silently - corrupt officials......

Taishi shook his head, "Oops! It's all said no! ”

Zhan Zhao thought about it and patted Bai Yutang, "Rongzhou Mansion is not far away, why don't you go shopping?" ”

As soon as Zhanzhao's words fell, a group of people raised their hands, which means - to go together!

Zhan Zhao was helpless.

Bai Yutang looked at Tianzun and a group of old ladies in the Demon Palace with disgust - this is really a drag......

Zhan Zhao suddenly remembered something and asked Taishi, "Taishi, did you say that the surname of Yin in Hangzhou Mansion is Pei?" Does he have any children or siblings? ”

Taishi touched his chin and said, "This is not clear. ”

Zhan Zhao nodded, thoughtful.

Bai Yutang asked, "What?" ”

"Hmm...... Do you remember the Pei Qin who died? Zhan Zhao asked.

Everyone nodded, Pei Qin is also surnamed Pei, and her origin is unknown, is there any relationship between the two?

Zhao Pu sent the black shadow and the white shadow to Hangzhou Mansion to inquire about where the original Pei Governor Mansion is now.

Everyone was preparing for the next move, and Ge Qing came.

Ge Qing came to pick up Zhao Lan, and Zhao Zhen said that if Zhao Lan refused to go back, he would live in Kaifeng Mansion for a while, but Ge Qing would accompany him in Kaifeng Mansion.

Xiao Geqing saw that Pang Yu and Bao Yan were discussing where to eat for a while, so he asked, "Are you really not nervous at all?" ”

Everyone was stunned, "What are you nervous about?" ”

Ge Qing blinked, "The students of those academies are all practicing, and they all said that this competition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, even if they can't win the literary exam, they will take advantage of this opportunity to beat the students of Taixue in the martial arts exam." ”

The crowd opened their mouths wide.

The little marquis covered his stomach, "Oops, my stomach hurts!" I still took sick leave when I competed......"

Just wanted to slip away, but was caught by Bao Yan, "If you can't run, think about countermeasures!" ”

"If you really can't." Bai Yutang dragged Tianzun, who was about to go out with joy, and pushed it in front of the group of Taixue students, "Let the Martial Saint teach you to pass on the world!" ”

Tianzun opened his mouth wide.

The eyes of the students lit up, "Really? ”

"Uh......" Tianzun took a step back and grabbed Yin Hou, who was about to slip away.

Yin Hou wanted to leave, Tianzun didn't let go, and finally the two glanced at each other, thinking that it was better to slip away together...... But before he could leave, the hems of his clothes on both sides were grabbed by the little four.

Xiao Sizi looked at the two of them and said, "Hmm...... The competition of the four courtyards is more important, we will go to Rongzhou Mansion next time to play, and we will start to make up martial arts lessons for Taixue tomorrow! ”

Tianzun and Yin Hou gasped—didn't they......

Chunhua saw that the situation was not good, and he also wanted to slip away, but Ouyang Shaozheng grabbed his neck by the collar and lifted it back like a chicken, pointing behind him Zou Liang, Long Qiaoguang, Zhao Pu and himself, that means, "You pick one of these uncles and teach you personally." ”

Chunhua frowned, and finally glanced at Zou Liang.

Zou Liang smiled, walked over, and pulled him from Ouyang Shaozheng's hand, "Very good, let's go." ”

Chunhua was taken aback, "Where are you going?" ”

"Learn kung fu and pay attention to practicality, find a few hooligans to practice their hands." After Zou Liang finished speaking, Chunhua hugged his uncle's thigh with a sad face, "I don't want it...... People are scholars! ”

The corners of the fire unicorn's mouth twitched - this is a little bit of a breath!

At this time, Lin Yehuo came over and picked up Chunhua, glanced at everyone, and kicked Xiao Liangzi in front of the students of Taixue by the way, "Use a knife to kill chickens, let Xiao Liangzi teach basic skills!" ”

The students looked at Xiao Liangzi bitterly.

Xiao Liang crossed his arms and looked at these scholars, and twisted his face, "Weak chicken!" ”

As a result, Tianzun and Yin Hou couldn't go, and they wanted to stay to teach martial arts, and a group of old ladies in the Demon Palace couldn't go after being introduced to a few shops by Pang Yu, and the little fourth son didn't go, which meant that Gongsun and Zhao Pu wouldn't go, and finally ...... Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang took the wind and the wind and Wu Yijiao, who had nothing to do, and Long Qiaoguang, the right general who was kicked by Hong Jiuniang and said that he was "serving tea and boiling medicine for idols to make cattle and horses", and the five of them went on the road together to go to the Yuanzhou Mansion to investigate this mysterious and Yan boss.